beernesday

here are my notes from yesterday's beer column on cbc radio's on the coast with stephen quinn: The BC Beer Awards on Saturday were a huge success as usual!   465 beers were entered by 63 breweries and judged, and 51 of those were declared winners – 3 in each of the 17 categories, plus 3 homebrews, a best in show and a challenge cask winner. No one brewery ran away with the awards.   In fact, of the 51 awards given out, 33 different breweries were represented in the winner’s circle.   And the fact that the best in show winner was a smoked porter from a brand new brewery says wonderful things about the state of beer in British Columbia .   Breweries big and small, new and established are all making really great beer.   This brings joy to my beer-loving heart!   And shows why BC won a whole third of the medals handed out at the Canadian Brewing Awards back in June – there is incredible depth in this Province of brewers brewing beer in all styles.   ...

an extra link love this week as there's just so much i love right now! student of beer waxes poetic about bridge brewing a couple of great articles in the westender about vcbw:  vcbw one , vcbw two  and joe wiebe's book launch at vcbw (by none other than vcbw organizer chris bjerrisgaard) 8 of the best looking craft beer brands , including one of my faves, 21st amendment   tasting notes for wine lovers when trying craft beers   how to fake it til you make it deciphering beer lists good news for me, champagne boosts memory! lastly, don't forget, craft beer week begins tomorrow night and there are still tix left for several events plus the non-ticketed walk-up events  

phew!  all caught up now! november 2, 2011 big al harvest ale - 5.4% four pounds per barrel of fresh yakima sorachi ace hops offer big citrus and fresh lemon flavors and aromas which we paired with deeply refined malt flavors mark this rich and warming medium-bodied amber ale lovely!  love the sorachi ace!  very rich and full-bodied elysian bifrost winter ale - 7.5% taste is bold and balanced with a good amount of citrus and earthy hop bitters to offset the malt character yes, yes, yes! crannog insurrection ipa - 5.4% a pale amber malt body emphasizes munich and caramel malts, with enough sweetness to hold up the rather large volumes of fresh cascade and golding hops light malt with perfect hoppiness, not my favourite ipa but such a joy to drink! big al brougham bitter - 5.5% english-style pale and crystal malts combined with aromatic, floral english hops create a smooth, balanced medium-bodied beer very english, but nicely hopped big al ipa - 7.1% chinook, cas...

october 19, 2011 rogue chipotle ale - 5.5% roasted chipotle peppers produce an eye opening chile flavor in this deep golden ale with a malty, smoky aroma and smooth, crisp flavor i love chipotle!  so delish! howe sound devil's elbow ipa - 6% an assertive ale that is heavily bittered and dry-hopped providing an intensive aroma and brewed using selected english and north american barley and hops its a baby next to the imperial ipa, but its a lovely tasty baby! paddock wood loki double ipa - 8.7% double ipa weighing in at 80 ibus.  brewed using cascade, amarillo, willamette and ekg hops, giving the beer a strong hop character i dunno about this one... too boozey for me.  but everyone else likes it and isn't finding the booze in it rogue imperial younger's special bitter - 7.5% it has a triad of caramel maltiness, fruitiness and hop bitterness in aroma and flavor and a dry, hoppy finish too boozey for this little princess.  but again, everyone else loves it and c...

i am very behind on posting reviews and tasting notes and i have no real excuse besides i don't wanna spend all my time on-line i wanna read six more books and meet the 50 book challenge oh, and i'd rather be out drinking the beer! october 5, 2011 rogue john john hazelnut - 5.6% ale with natural hazelnut flavor aged in hazelnut spice rum barrels blech, rum barrels! i thought i'd had this before (last year) but i don't remember booze in it, just nuttiness.  too boozey for me whistler valley trail chestnut ale - 6% dark amber colour with a tan-coloured head.  notes of chestnut, caramel and vanilla too much darned vanilla for my liking - why does everyone gotta put in vanilla?  too sweet, not nutty enough!  a vanilla hazelnut latte - not a chestnut beer dammit! storm imperial flanders red ale - 11% this full bodied monster of a sour has been aged in an oak barrel for a year oak, sure... but i'm getting a whole lotta vinegar.  i do love a sour and it did...

not that i'm behind on my notes or anything... here's the past two week's worth of beernesday tastings at st. augustine's september 21, 2011 taster #1 elysian night owl pumpkin ale - 5.9%  brewed with 7 1/2 pounds of pumpkin per barrel and spiked in conditioning with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice rogue ales chatoe good chit pilsner - 5%  made with rogue farm barley that is floor-malted in small batches crannog bogtrotter brown ale - 4.8%  a nutty, sweet brown ale with a touch of toffee in the flavour red truck ipa - wasn't on the menu i found the bogtrotter to be a "nice little brown - easy drinking" the night owl was pumpkin pieish, not overly spiced... "pretty good, but i don't think i'm ready for fall beers" the pilsner was practically an ipa, so of course i loved it! the red truck ipa was "quite nice" taster #2 russell cranberry wheat ale - 4.7%  we take an already damn fine wheat ale and ad...

and the final instalment of "what i drank on my lost saturday of beer tasting" brings us to stone brewing's 15th anniversary escondidian imperial black ipa and tenaya creek's tandem double ipa stone: "In the 15 years since we entered the craft brewing world, change has come not in a straight line, but as an exponential curve. The craft brewing movement has long been called a "revolution." But today the air is so thick with revolution, it's palpable. No longer is it only an awareness among the faithful; the unconverted are beginning to feel it as well. Denial and ignorance are disappearing in favor of opened eyes, curiosity and the sense that there's something larger out there. For far too long we have been lied to. For far too long we have been oppressed by the notion that dumbed-down-lowest-common-denominator-mediocrity was all that we could, and should, expect. You might think we're talking only about the world of brewing, but we...

next up on our lost saturday of beer tasting was the dead frog fusion hopped pilsner weighing in at 5% it was by far the lowest abv we drank that whole day "Fusion Hopped Pilsner is a fresh, zesty, immaculate German Pilsner that uses a Top Secret brewing technique to fuse European hops with premium malt to give you massive, distinct hop flavours and a smooth finish!" i think this lovely photo of me taking a sip says exactly how i felt about this brew: no idea how this got past a brewmaster and out to the unsuspecting public smells like every generic pilsner on the market but has the temerity to taste even worse loved the citra ipa haven't liked a single other "brewmaster series" production dead frog, you disappoint me insert unhappy face emoticon here

because the phillips 10th anniversary imperial ipa was 3l and 10% big we decided that we needed a group to drink it and what better excuse to get together with a couple of buddies than watching a bc lions game on tv? stacey, bridget, ryan and i spent saturday afternoon polishing off the 10th anniversary beer and several other potent brews is that what they mean by a lost afternoon??? look how proud we are of our magnum of beer! we had some trouble getting the darned cork out but once we macguyver'd through that little issue, we motored right on through that beer first sip made me feel warm inside - thank you 10% abv! i don't understand why the reviews are so mixed - i found nothing there to hate on it's not in my top ten ipas of all time, but i very much enjoyed it nice hop to malt ratio, while the alcohol warmed me inside (and got me giggly), it was not overwhelming, a perfectly delightful imperial ipa and the time-line on the bottle of phillips brewing ov...

the lovely beer pairing dinner of last week:  here we all are with our pre-dinner pints the ginger beer arrived first at 7:15 i had already had several pints by this point not so much that i couldn't appreciate the lovely ginger beer but enough so that food with my beer would have been welcome (note to self:  stop drinking before dinner!) course one - meat option - cured pork belly soup course one - pescetarian option - ahi tuna soup unfortunately my first bowl of soup was mushroomed fortunately my server loves me and got me a new one everyone raved about the amazing pairing of ginger beer with the pork belly soup but there was a request for more kimchi in the soup to improve the pairing me, i just love ginger beer and think it goes with most things! "what is the creature on top?" asked theresa "pork fat" replied tasha happy eye rolls and licking of chops ensued "porktastic" exclaimed alison originally the ginger beer wa...

march 16, 2011 beernesday st. augustine's i put together another sampler for stacy: elysian brewing bete blanche belgian tripel rogue marimoto soba ale red truck big black bock rogue brutal bitter i especially enjoy putting together a sampler for someone who likes belgians i don't myself, and feel kind of guilty about it so it pleases me when i can assuage that guilt a little by putting belgians in a sampler for someone else! for my sampler i chose: rogue morimoto soba ale st a's says:  6.5%  part of rogue's signature series, designed with iron chef masaharu morimoto.  soba, also known as buckwheat, is not a type of wheat but a member of the rhubarb family and has been a longtime staple of japanese cuisine because of its nutritional value i say:  not soo sure what to make of this one, i think i will have to spend some time with a larger serving to make up my mind red truck ltd. series big black bock st a's says: 7.2% a strong black lager interpre...

march 23, 2011 beernesday st. augustine's bit of a short beer menu this week... but short at st. a's is insanely long for most other places! began my evening with a sampler northcoast brewing scrimshaw pilsner st a's says: 4.4%  has a subtle hop character, a crisp, clean palate, and a dry finish i say:  pretty good.  not going to be a favourite, or even something i have a full pint of... elysian brewing co. men's room red st a's says:  5.6%  amber in color with a light hop aroma and toasty malt finish i say:  i like it.  red and hoppy!  its not an amber, its not an ipa, but it sure it their love child! taylor's crossing mad scow stout st a's says: 4.2% a dark irish ale having a rich, roasted coffee bitterness and a smooth creamy finish i say:  yes there's coffee bitterness, yes, its smooth and creamy but it feels kinda thin to me (gwen agrees) vista d'oro homestead estate cider st a's says: 7% an exceptionally dry and t...

march 2, 2011 beernesday st. augustine's i have been having fun making up samplers for some of my friends they say "what should i have?" and i get to play dictator! it works for me, and so far they say i haven't yet steered them wrong so it appears to be making everyone happy! for stacy i put together: howe sound rockfish red ale lost coast raspberry brown ale driftwood farmhand ale lighthouse rip tide pale ale she said it was so good jackie decided to have it too and i put a second sampler together for stacy: howe sound high tide hemp and honey ale howe sound rockfish red ale (she insisted on having this again!) upright brewing seven lost coast great white and she liked all of those as well woot - i rock! my sampler was: tree brewing double hop head ipa st a's says: 8% loaded with five different hop varieties, this bold imperial ipa is not for the faint of heart i say: i really like it deschutes mirror pond pale ale st a's says:...

oh happiness is drinking a fabulous beer! with a fabulous friend! in honour of tasha's birthday we cracked not one, but two big ole bottles of dogfish head's squall ipa this is not just any bottle of beer you know its a premium bottle that costs more than the dinner we went out for afterwards and according to dogfish head themselves, its hard to find but its worth every penny and an immense joy when it can be found! pours up rather clear for a bottle conditioned beer, with a lovely head its a 90 minute ipa that is also dry-hopped after the boil dogfish head is out of delaware, so i wasn't expecting northwestern hops (even though there are cascades in there) but it still always takes me a little aback when they're not there! "unfiltered, unfettered, unprecedented" true dat! " An unfiltered, 100% bottle-conditioned, super-pungent imperial I.P.A. clocking in at 9% ABV and dry-hopped with Palisade, Amarillo, Simcoe, Cascade, CTZ, and Willa...

tasting notes from february 16th's beernesday: you know the notes are gonna be interesting (trying not to insult myself here) when the top of the sheet has a little note that says "its official, i heart ipas, i heart being a little drunkish" i went with five pints of ipas no samplers, just jumped right on in there with full pints pint #1 was the crannog insurrection ipa st. a's said:  5.4 %  100% organic.  pale amber body emphasizes munich and caramel malts, with enough sweetness to hold up the rather large volumes of fresh cascade and golding hops i said:  bitter - goes well with the smell of bbq wings.  i like it, but not my fave.  not super hoppy pints #2 and 5 were howe sound's total eclipse of the hops around which i drew a heart and said:  i love this one.  so happy its back! pints #3 and 4 were the dead frog citra ipa i said:  okay, i like this like a whole lot.  so nice i gotta have it twice and what did others h...

february 9th's beernesday (aka the first beernesday after being on the wagon for january and then in mexico for two weeks) tasting notes: i began my debauchery with a pint of rogue's yellow snow ipa (this is the one i had a bad bottle of that once and so have to keep quality testing every opportunity i get...) "holy hops! after so long without hops i'm feeling like i'm home!" oh, my tan! followed by a sampler of some old favourites to welcome me home, and one experiment: north coast's pranqster belgian style golden ale st. a's said:  brewed using a mixed culture of antique yeast strains that produce a floral nose, a full fruity flavor and a clean finish i said:  for a belgian, its not tots awful.  i kinda like it.  i mean i don't want a pint of it or anything crazy like that... and since i hate the belgians, that's practically a glowing review!  and would be the "experiment" in my sampler rogue mogul madness st. a...

from beernesdays all the way back in january when i was on the wagon quotes and bons mots from those who were imbibing: amanda: on the rogue mogul madness:  i taste the hops and only the hops, maybe in another year [i will appreciate it] on the lost coast raspberry brown ale:  of course i love it - very berry raspberry, not so chocolate on lagunitas brown shugga:  uggh on storm highland cream ale:  love, love, love, so creamy, so nutty, not so dark but yum and caramel finish on hopworks 7 grain stout:  strong, hello america! yum, espresso taste that is so good!  can taste the 7 grains, not sure what they are, but good!  like having a shot of espresso with a shot of alcohol on moylans' irish stout:  low hops, defs malty, roasty & rich 4 sure, not chocolately or coffee flav like most.  delish bridget: on the crannog backhand of god:  makes the day bearable gwen: on russell's black death porter:  mediocre, wouldn't...

lazy blogger that i have become since returning from paradise and feeling lethargic about life in general back here in the real world... i have not mentioned any of the many beers i've been sampling at beernesday and assorted other beer drinking establishments where to start? maybe at the most recent beernesday and work my way back through february? or start with the first beernesday and work my way forward? decisions, decisions bah, let's just go with an import from the east coast shall we? justin brought this back from his road trip and let us all have a swig at the inaugural freddie mercury memorial winter bbq potluck family dinner and birthday party last weekend from pumphouse brewery in moncton, this little gem is fairly sweet and usually paired with dessert however, we found the blueberry ale to go rather well with bbq (beef steaks for everyone else, and a tuna steak for me) at 5% its sessionable, but way too sweet for me to want more than a sample okay, c...

hahahaha just found these notes from a beer tasting two years ago january 29, 2009 with someone i don't even speak to any more... Beer tasting Stella Jan 29 Satan Gold J liked it. Very crisp. Lots of apple smell R didn't like it and found it not good lambic-like. Likes the label 8% alcohol Ingredients: water barley malt wheat malt hops yeast Brewed by brewery De Block http://www.satanbeer.com/ Best served: between 8 and 10 degrees c Stellas says: pours a blondish yellow. The nose has notes of apples, subtle note of banana and malts. Almost similar to a lambic. Comes across the palete As slighty biter with a mild spice. Piraat 10.5 % Contains barley malt best served between 7 and 11 c it's brewed by brewery van steenberge http://www.vansteenveege.com/ reb likes the ship on the label. Literally translates the label as highly fermented strong beer. Refermented in bottle. She enjoys the hops but doesn't like whatever they are with. Reb wonders if i...

from last week's beernesday at st. augustine's: i began my night with a sampler dead frog's christmas beeracle!  5%  a festive, rich, warm amber ale with a medley of spices including cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. cannery's no jail pale ale:  3.05% a lower-alcohol beer with an authentic ale taste!  a clean, crisp ale with a bright hop finish and about 40% less alcohol than conventional beer salt spring's golden spike ale:  5%  voted "best golden ale" at the canadian brewing awards paddock wood's london porter:  5.3%  a dark ale based on a recipe from 1850 which lets chocolate malt take the lead.  smoother than stout, but still holds a deep roast profile i very much liked the christmas beeracle! gingery goodness (reminiscent of the steamworks ginger from last spring) and no vanilla!! i would definitely have this one again and i don't say that about many christmas or winter ales bridget liked it a lot too! the no jail was a little...